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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 01, 2022: PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – During an intimate cocktail event held last Friday, the Digicel Foundation detailed plans which the team will be embarking on to celebrate its 10 year milestone. This year, the Digicel Foundation will invest TT$2.25 million in development initiatives to commemorate its 10 year anniversary.
Digicel Foundation CEO Penny Gomez revealed that ten new EPIC partners will receive TT$100,000 each to implement projects in Fyzabad, La Brea, Moruga, Diego Martin, St Augustine, Paramin, Tobago, Marabella and Port of Spain. The investment total of 1 million is meant to directly impact over 3,000 persons in Trinidad and Tobago.
In addition to EPIC, other rollouts of projects include ‘Digicel Foundation Caribbean Code+’ which launched in Tobago in July. The five week programme was designed to teach coding in Primary schools and has been implemented by WECODE Caribbean. ‘Technology In Education (TIE) Centres’ is being done in collaboration with Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to commission five internet labs in Penal, La Horquetta and Tobago. These initiatives will assist with increasing access to the digital world for these underserved communities.
Additionally, this year the Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago (SOTT) secretariat will be completed. The TT$400,000 investment in a space allocated by SporTT at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium will be the new home for Special Olympics. The space was upgraded to make it more comfortable, accessible and suitable for the sporting body.
The Foundation’s Flagship project for this 10 year celebration is ‘the Digicel Foundation Innovation Labs’ which will be commissioned at ten special needs schools in Trinidad and Tobago. The tech spaces will be outfitted with computers, virtual reality, assistive devices and smart boards. The schools identified to receive an Innovation lab are Lady Hochoy Penal, Lady Hochoy Gasparillo, Audrey Jeffers School for the Deaf, Rio Claro Learning and Development School, Charis Works Academy, Lady Hochoy Arima, Goodwill Industries, Wharton-Patrick Special School, Happy Haven Tobago and Tobago Technical Vocational School.
The Digicel Foundation team also presented milestone awards to partners to highlight outstanding projects and partnership throughout the decade. The theme for this year’s celebration is “A Decade of Transformation.”
